More on the Simon van de Passe Engraving

The Simon van de Passe engraving of 1616. For a general introduction to this image and its context with other portraits of Pocahontas, see the main Portraits page.

This page will cover certain aspects of the portrait in more detail, namely the ostrich feather fan, the beaver hat, and the artist's skill (or lack thereof) in depicting a Powhatan Indian.

More to come!

The ostrich feather fan

Various authors have commented on the white ostrich feathers we see in the Van de Passe engraving, and which are also present in the oil painting copies of the engraving.

Rasmussen & Tilton, Pocahontas; Her life and Legend (1994):

"She holds an ostrich feather, which had long been a symbol of royalty." p. 32

Townsend, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma (2004)::

"Long delicate fingers hold a fan of ostrich feathers, a symbol of royalty." p. 152

Gunn Allen, Pocahontas: Medicine Woman Spy Entrepreneur Diplomat (2003)

"In one hand, a three-plumed white feather fan is propped gracefully, signifying her office as Beloved Woman--a significance perhaps known only to her and the Powhatan members of her party. That she holds this staff of office, as it were, for this formal portrait says much of her self-image and the image she intended to transmit to the English rulers and high society." p. 152

As we see, the top two references describe the ostrich feathers as a symbol of royalty, while the third describes the white feathers as a symbol of Pocahontas's office as "Beloved Woman". Both interpretations could be correct, even simultaneously, but I'd like to look at these suggestions a little more closely.

On whether or not ostrich feathers are a symbol of royalty, that appears to be basically true. Ostrich feathers can be seen in the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, more specifically, the one that represents Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376). Ostrich feathers continued to be used in badges and emblems by members of the royal family in the 15th Century and beyond.

Heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales

The Black Prince's Shield for Peace

The badge of Prince Edward

Regimental badge - Royal Regiment of Canada

Whether the people responsible for arranging the Van de Passe engraving and the outfit Pocahontas wore for it intended the feather fan to be a symbol of royalty, however, is less clear. That is one likely explanation, of course, but the fan could also have been merely a prop or artistic choice. I am inclined to believe it was at least partially an intentional suggestion of royalty for the purpose of emphasizing Pocahontas's status as a "princess", but we'll never know for sure.

With the Gunn Allen reference, there seems to be a suggestion that Pocahontas was making a subversive gesture by holding the white feathers, quietly proclaiming to be a "Beloved Woman". (That the feathers were ostrich obviously would have no significance, since there were no ostriches in America, so Gunn Allen speaks only of the feathers being white.) While I see that this is a possibility, the idea works only if we can assume that Pocahontas chose on her own to hold the feather fan. If so, did she also choose her attire? It's probably more likely that the sitting was arranged, with most details of the portrait meant to fulfill the London Company's mission of propaganda for the Jamestown colony. Pocahontas had probably never had her portrait done before, so she would have likely cooperated with the request to hold an ostrich feather fan. We must also consider the possibility that there was no actual feather fan at all, but that it was added to the image by Van de Passe as an artistic or stylistic embellishment.

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) really seemed to love having her portrait done, there being hundreds in existence. In many of the portraits, she is not holding anything, but when she is pictured holding something, it is quite often a feathered fan. The center and right fan below are both white ostrich fans, not unlike the fan Pocahontas is seen holding in the Van de Passe engraving. Elizabeth I is also seen with colored feather fans, as in the Darnley portrait at left. Portraits like these would have helped to foster the association of ostrich fans with royalty in the minds of the viewing public, and since they preceded the Van de Passe engraving, we may assume Van de Passe and other prominent portrait artists were well aware of them. That the people who commissioned Pocahontas's portrait hoped to evoke a royal or noble presence by having her hold an ostrich feather fan would not be difficult to imagine.

Darnley Portrait, c. 1575

Bettes Portrait, c. 1585-90

More to come!